MANCHESTER, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Bonnaroo's focus on adapting the event to meet the modern competitive festival market appears to have paid off after organizers reported a sharp increase in attendance over last year, with a rise of almost 43% over an admittedly dismal 2016.
Bonnaroo's 2017 attendance figures were not officially disclosed but were outlined to Billboard by a Live Nation source, who told the publication that the fest saw more than 65,000 fans in attendance each day.
2017's attendance figures are a sharp turnaround from 2016 when the festival reported all-time low daily attendance of 45,537, a drop of 28,156 over 2015, representing an estimated cost to Live Nation Entertainment, who acquired a stake in the festival in 2015, and its partners A.C. Entertainment and Superfly, an estimated $9 million in ticket sales, Billboard reported.
Changes at this year's festival included more major headliners, including U2, who are currently touring the entirety of their marquee album "The Joshua Tree"; Chance the Rapper; The Weeknd; Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lorde.
As well, the festival launched a new EDM/Hip Hop stage. Dubbed 'The Other Tent' the new stage allowed programming at the festival to cater to a wider range of musical tastes and more flexibility in lineup construction.
“Throughout the years, we've endured a fair amount of criticism for being willing to change. But that change, I would argue, is at the heart and soul of the Bonnaroo aesthetic, and being open to embracing new trends in the worlds of music,” Bonnaroo’s co-founder Ashley Capps told the Nashville Tennessean. – Staff Writers
